A Destiny Challenged
by American Vigor
Summary: What might have happened had Anakin been just a bit more conscious of Sidious’ deceit and a bit more cognizant of the dark lord’s influence over his mind? Starts at the moments in Revenge of the Sith when Anakin approaches Mace Windu fighting Palpatine.
1. A Destiny Challenged

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Episode III: Alternate History**

**Chapter One **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

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Proposition: What might have happened had Anakin been just a bit more conscious of Sidious' deceit and a bit more cognizant of the dark lord's influence over his mind?

---------------------------------

Anakin knew he was running out of time.

He'd let Master Windu know of the chancellor's apparent treachery, and now Mace was acting to put an end to the purported evil.

But what if Palpatine died?

What if the Jedi succeeded?

It could mean his only chance to save Padmé would be forever gone.

He landed his air car in front of the chancellor's office, running inside to see if he truly was too late for second chances.

As he ran, he noticed the bodies of some of his fallen comrades.

'So the chancellor does have a lightsaber,' Anakin thought to himself. 'Should I excuse him for these deaths? Does he have a good reason for them? Are the Jedi really moving to take control of the Republic?'

Thoughts raced through his mind as he approached the chancellor's personal conference room.

As he entered, he saw Master Windu backing Palpatine into a corner.

"Anakin!", Palpatine called out. "I told you it would come to this! The Jedi are taking over!"

"Your reign of terror is at an end, my lord," Windu said in a threatening fashion, holding his lightsaber close to the chancellor.

Then, Palpatine began to raise his hands and a scowl of anger and oppression came across his visage.

"No, no, it is you who will die!", he yelled as Force Lightning poured in copious amounts from his fingers.

"He is a traitor!", Palpatine yelled.

"Don't listen to him Anakin, he is the traitor!", yelled Mace, as he struggled to hold back the Sith Lord's attack with his lightsaber.

Anakin watched in emotional agony, unsure of what to do. The tradeoffs were great. And uncertainty regarding each decision remained.

"I can't … I can't … I'm too weak," Palpatine said as his lightning died down, his face now changed due to sustaining damage from the dark power of the lightning that was reflected back to him.

'Is Palpatine telling the truth, or is Mace?', Anakin thought to himself. 'Are the Jedi trying to take over, or is this Sith Lord trying to maneuver against the common good? Is there a way to save Padmé without the chancellor's teachings?'

"I'm going to put an end to this once and for all!", Mace exclaimed.

"Please don't let him kill me!", screamed Palpatine in defense.

A startling realization came to Anakin, which led to another, and then some more.

He then called out to the larger Force for guidance, and through his uniqueness, the clarity of his mental abilities were heightened tremendously.

The look on his face changed from concern by uncertainty to rage with conviction.

"Palpatine, my mentor, my friend, I have a simple question for you," Anakin said.

"Anakin, is now the time for questions?", Mace asked, trying to get Anakin to focus on the situation.

"Let him speak!", Palpatine yelled. "Anakin, please, stop this madness. Look what this Jedi is doing!"

"I've heard enough," Anakin said forcefully, causing both to turn to him, neither attacking the other, both focused on Anakin's strengthening emissions of raw force energy.

It was enough to make both Windu and Palpatine, masters of the Force in their own separate yet similar fashions, mandatorily compelled to not attack each other so Anakin could conduct his inquiries.

Both realized quickly that Anakin, singlehandedly with the amplified strength of an external source of the Force, was preventing the both of them from being able to strike each other or leave the room.

'I have never felt such mental energy before; even I can't twitch a muscle to bring the chancellor down right now!', Mace thought to himself.

"Palpatine, it is quite obvious you are Sith Lord. It is even more obvious that you meant to deceive us all by acting as a chancellor of benevolence," Anakin said. "Instead, you are a member of an organization of hatred that has tried to kill the Jedi in the past."

"I always acted with benevolence, Anakin. I am not evil," Palpatine said. "It is the Jedi, with their dogmatic ways, their refusal to be open-minded, that are evil. I knew that to do everything I could to stop them, I'd have to act covertly. The Jedi are reckless. It is only for the good of the galaxy and for peace that I have done this."

"Enough of your lies!", Anakin screamed, as the conference room shook with the intensity of Anakin's fury.

"Anakin, what has gotten into you?", Palpatine asked with a startled complexion.

"You said you were the only one who could save my wife. You said you were the only one whose teachings could protect her from death after she went through childbirth."

"Anakin, you have just admitted to breaking two of the Jedi Order's most important codes." Windu said.

"Yes, Master, I have. And I'm not afraid of you or anyone else who would seek to punish me for what I know in my heart to be right," Anakin said.

'I sensed a great deal of darkness in him before. Such a lack of clear and present focus. Now, I'm beginning to wonder if I was so sure of Anakin's feelings,' Palpatine thought to himself.

"Why would you genuinely want to help me save her life if you had no problem with putting her life at risk before?", Anakin asked.

"I don't know the meaning of these accusations," Palpatine said. "Where are you obtaining this nonsense? It's from Windu, isn't it? Don't let him control you, Anakin!"

"My powers in the Force are now stronger than either of yours; I would suggest you now be quiet, Darth Sidious," Anakin said. "With the Sith, there are almost always two. No more, no less. I remember Master Yoda teaching me that. You were the one responsible for the attack on Naboo all those years ago. You were the one who convinced the Trade Federation to put my wife's life in jeopardy. Darth Maul was just a pawn in your game, wasn't he? You would have had no problem if he killed the Jedi, including my master, Obi-Wan, and my grandmaster, Qui-Gon Jinn, who were trying to protect my future wife and the innocent citizens of that planet, isn't that right? And then, three years ago, before the Battle of Geonosis, it was your order to send that bounty hunter, Zam Wessel, to kill Padmé in her sleep. You were the brains behind Count Dooku, and we all now know how you decided to repay him. What's the game, Palpatine; did you want to turn me to the dark side of the force and blind me to reason by killing a person who's meant so much to me? After your threats on her life failed years ago, did you want to see if you could still sway me by turning my own emotions against me? With the insidious nature you posses that fills your very name, I wouldn't be surprised, Sith Lord, if you're the one who's threatening her life even now, and filling my dreams with nightmares to turn me to your cause."

Palpatine couldn't believe Anakin had figured out so much.

It was for his very nature to draw upon the Force and to see things clearly that Palpatine had wanted him as his new recruit.

When Darth Plagueis had initiated the process which had brought the Jedi standing before him to fruition, Palpatine had been concerned that he was himself about to be replaced.

He decided that not only would he use the Living Embodiment of the Force to his advantage in taking control of the galaxy, but that it would be an act of revenge against his master for trying to replace him, as he would take control of the very student Plagueis had himself wanted to train.

He had been so sure his mental grip on Anakin's reason in the past few months had been strong enough to sway the boy. He had used up so much power trying to maintain the limited control he had thought he more strongly had.

Why wasn't it working?

"Master Windu, this scum should stand trial for the atrocities he's committed."

"Anakin, he's too dangerous to be left alive," Mace said. "Did you see all our friends he's killed? Don't you recognize that so many innocents have died senseless deaths because of his actions?"

"I am aware of both those factors," Anakin said. "But who knows how many senators he's corrupted. If we kill him now, this may cause complications between the Jedi Order and the Senate that could be catastrophic. If he managed to stay concealed from us so long and cloud our vision, we might be very much unaware of how much he's really played with the senators' minds. I'm telling you, Mace, if we kill him now, the senators will try to destroy us just as much as he wanted to."

"Skywalker, I see the logic of your statements. And I will honor that logic."

"Why are you doing this, Anakin?", Palpatine asked. "I just wanted to save your wife."

"You should have never put those premonitions in my head, Sidious," Anakin said. "You should have never made me aware of my ability to more clearly see the future. I saw what would have happened had I joined you, and I judged it against what would have happened had I sided with the Jedi. I've not been the most loyal Jedi. But now, I will be."

"Oh, and what delusions did you think you saw?", Palpatine asked.

"I saw how you had a suit all ready to go for me to be trapped in when I lost in a duel that you pushed me into," Anakin said. "I saw you laughing at my agony for Padmé's death. I saw you celebrating that you managed to destroy democracy, which Padmé's been working as hard as she can to defend, and also saw you celebrating my slayings of innocent children within the Jedi Temple. I saw you reveling in the glory of playing both sides, having billions of individuals who didn't have to die be forever silenced because of your needless lust for power. I saw more bloodshed, more conquest, you pitting me up against my son, and yes, even my daughter, and laughing as we played your little game. That is a destiny I now must challenge. I will never let myself be consumed by the dark side. I am a Jedi, like Padmé would want me to be."

Palpatine recognized his daunting position.

"So be it, Jedi," Palpatine said.

"You have failed, your highness," Anakin said, referring to the person he saw before him as the emperor he never would become.

"I can see my methods have, indeed, certainly failed," Palpatine said, grimly. "I should have aided Darth Tyranus and killed you while I had the chance," Palpatine said. "This did not proceed as I had foreseen."

"Your loss is the galaxy's gain," Mace said.

"He was planning to kill all the Jedi by having his clone troops turn against us," Anakin said.

"That will never happen. Now that Palpatine's true nature has been discovered, we'll stop this war and rebuild," Mace said.

"He mentored me for a long time. You've always acted cold to me. He played upon that separation, and wanted to strengthen my affinity with him and dissonance with you," Anakin said.

"He's a Sith, Anakin. He would kill you if it served his twisted ends," Mace said. "He turned Dooku against himself. Who knows how many untold stories of horror this monster has caused, and how many lives will now be spared from his greed?"

"I'm letting you go, Mace, from the mental lock I have on you," Anakin said.

Mace now felt freer, and took out his handheld communicator.

"This is Master Windu, calling the Jedi Temple."

"Yes Master Windu, what is it?", the voice on the other end replied.

"I need the strongest Force Restrainers you can find and bring them over here. Master Skywalker and I have discovered that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is the Sith Lord we've been looking for."

There was silence on the other end.

"This is unbelievable," the voice said.

"But it is true, nonetheless," Mace said. "You must act quickly; Skywalker's doing the best he can to restrain the chancellor's movements."

"Sending appropriations now," the voice said before Mace clicked the device off.

"Did you just say, 'Master Skywalker?'", Anakin asked.

"For your heroism today, I think the Council will agree with my nomination for you," Windu said.

"Even after my significant breaches of the code?"

"Regardless of those items, you have proven yourself time and again for the Jedi Order, Anakin. I will be obligated to inform the members of the Council of those indiscretions, but I will also look forward to testifying on your behalf."

"I am honored and humbled," Anakin said. "Thank you, Master."

"When I am free, I will kill you both," Palpatine said. "You can't keep me held with your mind forever. Sooner or later, my own mental powers will defeat yours."

"Don't worry, Palpatine. I read your mind," Anakin said. "I know where I come from. Darth Plagueis had no idea that his actions would strengthen the Jedi, and I'm sure you were betting against that. I am more than well aware, thanks to your mental weakness and unwillingly open mind, of what I truly am, and I am also aware of the powers against your pitiful mental overrides I now strongly possess."

"The Sith will have their revenge, young Skywalker," Palpatine said.

"I think that's now highly unlikely, and that all you have left are empty threats," Anakin said.

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_Due to popular demand, I have decided to make this former one-shot into a full-fledged story! CHAPTER TWO HAS BEEN WRITTEN AND IS AVAILABLE NOW! _

_Chapter Completed: 6/7/09_

_Chapter Revised: Oct. 19, 2009 _

_I hope you are enjoying this brief glimpse at a path not taken!_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_- American Vigor - _

_---------------------------------_


	2. The Second Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Episode III: Alternate History**

**Chapter Two **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

---------------------------------

News of the chancellor's deceit had spread quickly throughout the Jedi Temple and to the Jedi on the battlefield.

As Anakin and Mace travelled back to the temple, a special conference of the Jedi High Council entered session.

In the midst of their battles, Yoda and Ki-Adi-Mundi, on Kashyyyk and Mygeeto respectively, tuned in to share their thoughts on the recent developments.

"Suspicious of the chancellor's activities, we had been," Yoda said from lightyears away. "Troubling, his sudden and unexpected rise to power was. Discerned this more readily, we should have."

Mace and Anakin used a holocamera aboard their Low Altitude Assault Transport to communicate from afar. While Anakin concentrated the majority of his strength keeping Sidious in place, with four clone troopers pointing their blasters at the dark lord and ready to fire should Anakin grow too weak to restrain him, Mace raised a point of concern.

"The question is how best to proceed from here," he said. "The actions we are taking to reprimand an officer of his stature are unprecedented in recent history. There is no telling how the Senate will respond when it discovers that we have taken its chancellor into custody without first consulting any of its other officers."

"Indeed, we must be careful," Ki-Adi-Mundi said. "This is a very delicate situation. If we are to suggest that a trial be held against the chancellor, this could cause a public outcry. A great many of the senators do not trust us. I am appalled that it would appear there is a good chance so much of that distrust was influenced by the dark side of the force."

Upon hearing Ki-Adi-Mundi's remarks, a small smile crept across Palpatine's face.

"Where is Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked. "Does anyone know what his status is?"

"We know that he traveled to Utapau, although he has not reported from there," said Coleman Kcaj, resting in his seat in the Jedi Temple. "He was due to report some time ago."

Anakin was angry.

He used the force to shake Sidious in his place, causing the Sith lord to cringe in pain.

"If anything happens to him because of you, I swear you will pay dearly," Anakin said.

'Such potential, all gone to waste for nothing,' Sidious thought to himself.

"Is there a holding facility in the Jedi Temple that's been prepared to restrain the chancellor?" Mace asked. "Skywalker's doing the best he can with his newfound powers, which are worth a discussion in themselves, although the limited Force Restrainers we have aboard this LAAT aren't going to help him hold the chancellor for much longer. Anakin, how much more do you think you can keep it up?"

"As long as it takes," he said, sounding a little out of breath.

"Please have the docking bay and an adequate holding facility prepared for our arrival, Kcaj."

"It shall be done, Master Windu."

"Unfortunate, it is, that difficult to achieve, direct communication with the Confederacy's leaders is," Yoda said. "Communicating with Grievous and Gunray about Palpatine, a possible way to end the war, it could be."

"Until we open a dialogue with them, we'll just have to keep fighting their forces to make sure they don't harm the local populations," Ki-Adi-Mundi said.

"Keep on trying to communicate with them, we shall."

"Then it's agreed," Mace said. "We have our course of action."

Mace signed off from the holocamera.

He turned to Sidious.

"So, now that you're here, let's talk, face to face."

He walked over to Palpatine.

"Tell me, what was going through your mind when you decided you wanted to destroy the Republic from within?" Mace asked.

"Oh, something you Jedi wouldn't understand," Sidious said. "I wanted to create a level of peace the Republic was not capable of bringing. A dominion under my command, with my intelligence and power securing the galaxy under one rule, would be a most excellent form of governance. You must admit that too often the fickle disagreements of the widely diverse sectors of the Republic cause inefficiencies that result in callous harm. I would have been able to end much of that."

"But at what cost? Just some lives, here and there? Just some freedoms, hopes, and dreams? The ability to live without one man controlling the ultimate fate of everyone? Your power has gone to your head."

"And your power doesn't cloud your vision?"

"Not in the way yours does."

Sidious honored Mace's comment by spitting at him, a trickle of hatred now on his face.

Windu then proceeded to punch Sidious square in the face, a trickle of blood now appearing from under the dark lord's right eye, and out the respective nostril.

"That's for all my friends you've killed."

Fighting back the pain, Palpatine responded.

"They deserved it."

Mace decided he'd grown tired of talking with his enemy, and walked back to the other side of the LAAT.

Just then, a sinister thought entered Palpatine's consciousness.

"Oh, and by the way, Master Windu, don't think that this is over."

Mace turned around to face the Sith lord once more.

"What do you mean?"

"I have learned to always have a backup plan."

Palpatine then eyed the clone troopers with a certain tinge of excitement. Before Mace and Anakin realized what was happening, Sidious made his move.

"Execute Order 66!"

The clone troopers repositioned their weaponry towards a weakened Anakin.

---------------------------------

_Up next: Palpatine's backup plan is in full force! Will Anakin and Mace survive? Stay tuned! _

_Chapter completed Oct. 19, 2009_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_- American Vigor - _

---------------------------------


	3. The Third Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Episode III: Alternate History**

**Chapter Three **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

---------------------------------

Obi-Wan Kenobi rarely savored individual days, often looking at life in a fuller picture, appreciating it for its majestic beauty.

But right now, with Grievous' defeat fresh in his mind, he took great pride in this day.

With Dooku and now Grievous removed from the battlefield, ending this war would become all the easier, and countless lives would be saved.

He relished in the thought of this success.

As the battle of Utapau raged on, with clone troopers and droids continuing to fight, Obi-Wan steered his varactyl, Boga, toward Commander Cody.

They were comrades in arms, and Kenobi had placed much trust in this exemplary leader.

"Commander, contact your troops," Kenobi said. "Tell them to move to the higher levels."

"Very good, sir," Cody responded.

As the two started to move on different paths, Cody stopped suddenly and turned around to face the departing Kenobi.

Cody had remembered the fortunate item he had retrieved which was near and dear to his friend.

"Oh, by the way, I think you'll be needing this," Cody said as he gave Kenobi back his lightsaber.

"Thank you, Cody," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "Now let's get a move on. We've got a battle to win here."

"Yes, sir!" Cody said.

Kenobi motioned Boga to move forward, and the varactyl responded gracefully.

Cody watched on, briefly checking his comlink to see if he had received any new communications. When he saw none were there, he withdrew the device and began to briefly check another clone trooper's blaster for damage.

As Obi-Wan traveled further, he pulled on Boga's reins, stopping her suddenly.

Something felt out of place, here.

But what?

He hopped off of Boga, then looked around him.

'What a strange sensation,' the Jedi Master thought to himself. 'I have never felt something like this before.'

It was as if he had sensed a ripple or disturbance in the force, although unlike all others which he'd ever felt, this one seemed complacent somehow, calming, even.

"Is there something I'm forgetting?" Kenobi wondered aloud.

And as it turned out, there was.

Kenobi reached through his belongings to pull out his own comlink.

He activated the device to check it for any recordings.

One new message was stored within its memory, recorded not too long ago.

It was from the Jedi Temple.

'I must have been too busy fighting Grievous to notice this,' Kenobi thought to himself.

He activated the message.

"_All Jedi in combat, be advised! All Jedi in combat, be advised!"_ the message began.

Kenobi listened intently.

"_The Supreme Chancellor is Darth Sidious! Again, the Jedi Order has discovered that Supreme Chancellor Palpatine is Darth Sidious!"_

Kenobi's eyes widened.

"What the…?" Kenobi thought aloud.

The recording continued.

"_Master Windu and Anakin Skywalker confronted Sidious in his office and have temporarily detained him. They will next transport him to the Jedi Temple. Be on the lookout for any suspicious activity on the battlefield from your troops, now that we know the chancellor's true identity. Report back to the Temple if you make any unexpected observations."  
_

The recording ended.

Obi-Wan reflected upon its implications for some time.

"My friend, you've come a long way," Kenobi thought aloud.

*****************

Anakin stared at the four blasters pointed toward him.

He had no choice.

To keep his hold on Palpatine while the searing rays cut through him would result in the Sith lord's release from his grip anyway.

His own life was worth preserving.

Anakin quickly let go of his concentrated hold, and used the Force to restrain the movements of the four clone troopers. His newfound ability proved much easier to use against the clone troopers than it did against Sidious himself.

He then concentrated his manipulated energy into their wrists, causing them to let go of their blasters.

Then, he used his left hand to fling the blasters so they landed behind Mace.

The entire duration of his action had lasted for five seconds, if not less.

But it was enough time for Palpatine to regain his bearings, gathering his strength to ready an attack.

Anakin felt weak after using so much energy in such a new way, and he looked on and foresaw what was approaching him.

He was, however, too weak for an effective counterattack.

And both he and Sidious knew it.

The Sith lord let lightning pour from his fingertips, hitting Anakin and flowing through him.

As Windu rushed to help his friend, Palpatine took his right hand off the assault against Anakin and placed it toward Mace, who began to block the Force Lighting with his lightsaber.

"The both of you should not have dared such an egregious offensive," Palpatine said. "I will emerge from this all the stronger."

"As long as we breathe, we will not let that happen," Windu said, readying a special maneuver of his own.

He was struggling against Palpatine's lightning, finding it hard to keep his stance. He looked briefly to his right side and saw Anakin struggling, with the four clone troopers rushing to retrieve their blasters.

"Your efforts are no match for the true power of the dark side," Sidious said to the both of them, as the lightning continued to flow. "Both of you will pay the price for your lack of vision!"

Suddenly, Mace realized he'd gathered all he needed to launch his counteroffensive.

He motioned with his left hand and sent out a wave of Force energy that knocked Palpatine backward, disrupting the flow of energy.

Mace looked rightward again.

Anakin wasn't moving.

Before he could further check his comrade's status, he saw Palpatine stand up, his cackle reflecting the darkest depths of the Force.

The four clone troopers were headed his way.

'I never thought it would come to this.'

Windu braced himself for unprecedented action.

*****************

_Thanks for reading chapter three!_

_New chapters will be coming out at least once a week! _

_Chapter three complete: Oct. 24, 2009_


	4. The Fourth Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Chapter Four **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

---------------------------------

Mace was faced with an ethical dilemma.

He had embraced the dark side in part through developing his variant of the Juyo lightsaber style, the infamous Vaapad form which had helped lead Master Sora Bulq to the ranks of Darth Tyrannus.

Windu knew Vaapad had almost corrupted him as well. It was a state of mind, a state of life, rather than just a lightsaber form. It combined tenants of the more peaceful and graceful light side with the more coarse and belligerent dark, and beckoned its user to embrace the darkness to a great extent.

Windu knew of Vaapad's dangers to those who could not keep the balance within. To allow the dark to overcome the light could make those who wanted to use the form in earnest for the Jedi turn against all they had previously believed.

His own apprentice, Depa Billaba, had fallen from the holiest and most revered Jedi pacifism to the twisted ends of peace through tyranny after she had learned the mysteries of Vaapad.

The dark side's temptations were truly compelling.

Even in his first skirmish against Darth Sidious, in the Senate office of the deceitful horror who laughed with spite, he had used Vaapad. Windu had thought it to be the only way to strike against the Sith Lord, who fought with an unpredictable style rooted in the very depths of the dark side. Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar had fallen at Palpatine's hands all too quickly, their focus on the serenity of the light side too great to overcome the malevolence that shadowed them. Windu had allowed himself to embrace the darkness. Vaapad granted its user swift speed, paralleling the brash and rushing nature of emotions that fueled humanity's madness. He even channeled Sidious's power to increase his own, allowing his fighting style, amplified by the darkness within his soul, to become augmented through the power of the Sith.

And when Palpatine had used Force Lightning on him then, and in the recent moments when Palpatine had used Force Lightning on him once again, he had used his affinity for the dark side to allow his lightsaber to absorb the strongest elements of the blast.

But Vaapad wouldn't be enough to stop Sidious once and for all.

He knew it when he'd first confronted Sidious, and he knew it now.

He saw Palpatine look down upon the fallen form of Anakin Skywalker, laughing as he saw the Jedi he had worked so hard to turn now laying on the floor, unmoving.

The four clone troopers continued to rush toward Mace's position.

They would soon reach their blasters, resting in a scattered mess behind Mace.

The LAAT's staging area was not that large, just a matter of meters.

The clone troopers would reach their weapons quickly.

Windu had come so close to allowing the darkness to consume him in his training.

Memories from within the Jedi Temple came rushing to him ...

**************************

He could almost hear the currents of the Force prompting him to accept the darkness and become a stronger Jedi through doing so.

'But I couldn't do that,' Mace had thought in the depths of his training in Vaapad.

He felt the dark side of the Force flow through him.

_You could.__  
_

'Not without compromising all I stand for as a Jedi.'

There was a silence of no reverberation. Then he felt the darkness again.

_There is more than one way to secure peace for the galaxy. _

'The dark side's vision of peace is twisted and corrupting.'

_Only if you do not guard against that corruption. _

And then aloud, Windu yelled forcefully.

"I must always remain on the side of the light!"

_And even if you accept the dark as part of your soul, you can._

Mace continued to feel the darkness flow through him.

_Balance is the key to the universe. There can be no light without dark. There are ways to complement your powers without compromising your principles. _

Mace felt his hands beginning to shake, the anger swelling within him.

_Many Jedi have consulted the dark side and have fallen to it out of ignorance, allowing it to largely consume them. For a Jedi to embrace the dark and allow it to help them fight for their vision of good, they must have balance! Let the light side flow through you as well! _

A calm nature overcame Mace, and his hands stopped shaking.

'What has happened?'

_The Force has always been strong with you. And you have the power to seek a true balance within you that can amplify your power. _

'I don't seek power just to have it.'

_That power can help you save the galaxy. Sometimes, you must open yourself to new ideas so that you may consider their potential validity. The dark side will prompt you to twisted ways if you let yourself be consumed by it completely. But so will the extremities of the light side, if you let the light consume you so much that you think pacifism and passiveness are the answers to all problems. Such a creature would not defend itself properly if given the chance to do so, and would be so blind to reality as to seek peaceful resolution without using arms while the guns of war reign down upon that creature's planet, all caused by an the enemy that has demonstrated previous unwillingness to cease that action. The Jedi as a whole have found some balance by embracing the dark at least in modicum, even if they don't consciously realize it. You seek further balance now. There are glorious techniques of the light you have used, and glorious techniques of the dark that can help you as well. Let honor guide you. Let the Force guide you. Let balance guide you. _

'But what if I fall?'

_Let balance guide you. _

Mace was confused and became enraged.

"I don't understand!" he yelled aloud.

Subconsciously, and in an extension of the trance in which he was engaged, he felt the power of the Force enter with concentration in the extremities of his fingertips.

A powerful tremor in the force was felt throughout the Jedi Temple.

Yoda felt Mace's distress, and rushed to him.

The warrior looked out of breath, and looked relieved to see Yoda enter the training room.

"Master Windu, in distress, are you?"

A slight smile crept across Windu's face.

"No longer, my friend."

The determined look on Yoda's face softened.

"A powerful disturbance in the Force, felt it all throughout the Temple, we did," Yoda said.

"I was in a deep training session."

"More careful, you should be. These Clone Wars, putting us on the brink of exhaustion, they have been."

"Trust me, my friend, I will take greater care."

"Needs you to be strong, the Jedi Order does. If there is anything still you need, let me know, you should."

Just as Yoda was about to turn and walk back to his meditation chamber, he briefly noticed a charred mark on the far wall in the room, but after a moment's hesitation, decided not to inquire about it.

Master Windu knew his friend had seen it, and that he had much to accomplish.

**************************

That had been months ago.

He had never told Yoda about what exactly had happened during his training session then.

And after numerous subsequent meditations, Mace had mentally come a long way.

Now, Darth Sidious, the strongest practitioner of the dark side of the force, stared at Mace Windu with menacing fervor.

Mace knew Vaapad would no longer be enough.

True balance was needed.

Mace used the Force to fling all four of the clone troopers against the side of the LAAT, making sure their heads would hit the siding, knocking them out.

"It seems you wish to fight me without intrusion, Master Windu," Palpatine said. "Now that Anakin is, shall we say, incapacitated, it is time we settle our battle."

Mace deepened his stance.

"An excellent suggestion," Mace said.

Palpatine smiled.

"I can feel the anger within you, Master Windu," he said. "You are quite unlike other Jedi."

"We have differences among us."

"Not like yours."

Mace hesitated, then took a deep breath.

"You're right," he said, dropping his cloak to the floor. "I've learned something new."

Palpatine took the opportunity to make an inquiry.

"Your lightsaber, Master Windu, I have always wondered about its color."

"This?" Windu said as took his weapon from its holster and ignited the blade.

"What about it?"

"It is a rare occurrence among the Jedi for a blade to have that color. Why is it so?"

"Predestination, largely."

"I am honestly intrigued."

Mace paced forward, and held the blade out toward Palpatine.

"Purple is a noble color. It has been since antiquity. But that's not why this color is special to me."

He stopped pacing as he placed the blade under Palpatine's chin, directly by his throat.

Palpatine did not flinch, sensing the Jedi was merely acting demonstratively.

"It has the spirit of the light, such as the blades used by the Jedi Guardians who have fought the evil of the Sith for millennia."

Palpatine observed the blade.

"And the blue is accompanied by the red, a color symbolizing the dark side that has given many who wielded its nature greater strength."

Windu withdrew his blade, and began to walk back toward the other end of the LAAT.

"And you?" Palpatine asked.

After walking a few more steps in silence, Mace threw down his silent lightsaber to his right, which made a clanking sound on the ground with its impact.

"I no longer need that weapon to fight you."

Palpatine considered this in earnest.

"A bold claim for a Jedi."

Mace then turned around and entered a stance.

"There's more than one way to secure peace for the galaxy."

They briefly stared each other down, deadlocked in anticipation.

Palpatine raised his arms, and Force Lightning sprouted forward.

Mace Windu raised his arms in response, and the lightning emitted from them as well.

---------------------------------

_Hey all!_

_I hope you enjoyed the fourth chapter! _

_Chapter five will be out next week!_

_For my friends who are celebrating it, have a happy Halloween! _

_In fun and fanfiction,_

– _American Vigor – _

_Chapter completed: Oct. 31, 2009_


	5. The Fifth Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Chapter Five **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

* * *

Their lightning collided with a bright blast and an echoing boom.

The LAAT shook with the force of the Force.

As Palpatine let his energy flow, Mace was visibly struggling.

"I can tell you've not yet honed this skill to your advantage, Master Windu," Palpatine said in mockery. "Your weakness will be your undoing."

"Not yet!" Mace said as he struggled to let out his words.

The pain was overcoming him.

His muscles were growing tired.

He also wondered what sorts of inhuman oddities Palpatine had put himself through to channel such destructive energy at his age.

"The depth of my power is something you cannot comprehend," Palpatine said, pushing the meeting point of their electricity closer to Mace. "Your weakness is my strength. Your fear is your requiem."

"I have plenty more as well!" Mace channeled even more of his power into the attack. The walls were becoming charred, and minute electrical explosions from the panels of the craft were spurting throughout the LAAT's holding area.

In the midst of their battle, the comlink with the cockpit activated.

"Master Windu, Master Skywalker, what's going on in there?" the clone pilot asked aloud.

Fearing the worst if Sidious managed to issue his dreadful order to this clone too, Mace used the Force to channel a portion of the lightning toward the comlink answering device in the room, destroying it on contact.

"A wise and bold decision!" Palpatine said. "But it will not save you."

The Sith Lord put greater strength into the storm before him. The ball of lightning reached Master Windu and then went through his hands and into the main part of his body, throwing him against the wall that separated the holding area from the cockpit.

As Mace stood up to continue the fight, the sordid charge came toward him again.

'The darkness I let out, combined with the darkness of the Sith, is consuming me now,' Mace thought. 'I should not have taken this risk.'

"The galaxy will long remember the day you became no more," Sidious said, walking over to the recoiling Mace, who was writhing in agony. As he walked forward toward Mace, he sent out another blast, burning through Mace's body with searing pain.

"You and all the Jedi are going to pay the price for your lack of vision!"

Another bolt escaped Palpatine's hands, and Mace felt on the verge of blacking out as the lightning continued to consume him.

The room's luminescent glow of blue and purple then ceased.

Palpatine savored the moment. This Jedi had tried to fight the darkness with the dark he had within him, and yet he had failed. The strength which fueled the movements of the Sith did not help the Jedi win after all.

"Master Windu, only in the end do you understand your mistake," Sidious said. "Your passion for the dark side is quite exemplary. Maybe in another time, had conditions been right, I would have seen your potential earlier and offered you to join me."

Mace, clenching his fists and concentrating as hard as he could to minimize as much as possible the pain, opened his eyes and looked at his predator.

"I would never join you," he said, short of breath.

"Your mistakes have cost you dearly," Sidious said. He then deepened his stance, and began to concentrate his energy.

"And now, Master Windu, you will die!"

He let the lightning flow again, sensing the distress of Windu's spirit.

But then, a sudden movement in the Force.

An energy from his side, swiftly moving in front of the lightning with lightning speed itself, a blue lightsaber moving with superlative quickness finding its way in front of the blast and absorbing the blunt of the attack.

Anakin Skywalker was furious.

Palpatine felt reviled, and his scowl showed great discontent.

Skywalker continued to stand tall, stand balanced, and his lightsaber was easily absorbing the continued electricity.

Palpatine stopped his attack, and the room returned to normal color.

He let his hands drop to his sides.

He and Anakin were now in deadlocked faceoff.

He could sense the emotions swirling within Anakin, the anger and hatred that gave him his power.

Perhaps the Jedi _could_ use the dark side effectively.

"I hate you," Anakin said, his eyes alight with the sorrows of broken promises. "You betrayed me."

Palpatine had worked for more than a decade to bring Skywalker under the true form of his wing. He had guided Anakin so much over the years and pretended to care about his feelings when the boy had found fault or difficulty with the Jedi. Now, Anakin couldn't have been more strongly aligned with them.

"Whatever do you mean, Anakin?" Palpatine asked. "I told you I wanted to bring peace to the galaxy, and so I've been acting to do just that."

"By killing billions of innocent people and waging a war against the Republic itself?"

"Anakin, listen to reason. Remember what I taught you in the many discussions we've had. Sometimes you must make sacrifices to achieve a good that will help those you want to help. I want to bring order to the galaxy. The powers the Senate gave me in response to the separatist crisis were in the right direction towards achieving that order. And by weakening the forces of the Confederacy of Independent Systems, those who stood in the Republic's way from dominance of the galaxy, the Sith would reign supreme and spread our doctrine, the correct and true doctrine for the maximization of the potential of all the denizens of the galaxy, throughout its entirety."

"That's a horrid lie and you know it," Anakin said. "You wanted to use us all to make an empire for yourself. Remember, I saw what was to come. I can't explain how, and I'm sure you can't either, but I know what you were planning. And in that empire of one, with all the citizens of the galaxy subservient to you, terrorized into accepting what you felt was in their interests while they may have preferred different paths that were in fact much more conducive to what they truly needed in life, you used us all for your petty pleasures and goals. You're even betraying the Sith Order itself, in your goal for imperial dominion over the galaxy. The Sith value a complete and totally reckless form of liberty where they can feel to do whatever they please, even killing innocents, so long as it accomplishes their goals. The empire you wanted is at the entirely other extreme with regards to the liberty, but with the glorification of egregious and unwarranted death and destruction all the same. You wanted to restrict everyone's freedom to the point where no one would be able to truly do much of anything without your direct permission."

"You misunderstand, Anakin."

"No, I really don't think I'm misunderstanding your real intentions here at all, Darth Sidious. You know, you were like a father of sorts to me. You were like the father I never had. I doubt in retrospect you actually cared."

Palpatine sighed.

"You shared my passion for glory, Anakin," Sidious said. "You wanted to be a hero. I did too."

"You would have never been a hero, just some vile oppressor."

"That isn't fair; you know I want what's best for the galaxy."

"You want what's best for yourself. Both of the institutions you support, the Sith and the Galactic Empire you wanted to establish, would have gone counter to everything the Republic stands for."

"Oh, you mean the excess greed, corruption, malice through the tyranny of divergent interests that form unproductive squalor and waste, and a lack of real defense against threats to itself?"

"You don't need to completely overhaul a system to fix the things that are wrong with it. And yes, the Republic is flawed. But if the citizens of the galaxy work together, become more conscious of the dealings of their officials, and strive to place in power through democratic means representatives who truly will reflect the interests of a society of peace and mutual collaboration for galactic improvement that works as best as possible to reflect the interests of all the planets, and not just those of one man and his inner circle of associates, this would be an excellent galaxy."

"You talk in terms of childish optimism."

"On the contrary, I talk in terms of the bravery and dedication that so many people throughout the galaxy would be willing to commit to keep democracy alive."

"Including your wife, may she soon rest in peace."

"If I kill you, she'll be safe."

"Oh, you're very mistaken, Anakin. For someone who purports to understand the future, I'm surprised at how mistaken you truly are. She is going to die. And she will die quite quickly and with panic and fear."

"I don't believe you."

"You don't have to believe reality for it to be real."

"You will be held for trial, Palpatine."

"And I don't believe you grasp the true reality of your predicament."

Palpatine reached out with the Force and grabbed Mace's lightsaber.

It was intricate, of a different design than he was used to, and it was soaked with the squalid vigor of the Jedi.

It did not matter.

Not for this.

He ignited the blade.

* * *

_Hello everyone! _

_I hope you had as much fun reading chapter five as I had writing it! _

_Get ready for chapter six! It's up next!_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_- American Vigor -_


	6. The Sixth Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Chapter Six **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

The battle on Kashyyyk was moving heavily in the Republic's favor.

Wookiees trumpeted their gallant roars as they tore droids and confederate weaponry apart.

Yoda watched from above, overseeing the battle with great fervor.

'Soon, rebuild and grow again, the Jedi Order will,' he thought as he watched a Juggernaut explode while traversing the beach.

The news that Palpatine and Sidious were one in the same had not been the greatest shock to him.

The Jedi Order had even gone so far as to suspect Palpatine's involvement, whether wittingly or unwittingly, in a plot conceived by the dark side to overcome the galaxy.

Yoda had felt the presence of the darkness around both the chancellor and the Senate grow strongly in the past few months.

He now knew for sure the two were very much intertwined.

And with that knowledge, he felt deep remorse that his old soul knew he would never be able to truly reverse.

Even he, and all the others considered to be the most experienced among the Jedi, had failed to see what in retrospect should have been clearly seen.

But his failure to recognize the true identity of Palpatine was not the greatest sense of loss he felt.

So many Jedi, young and old, close allies and friends of his and those whom Yoda felt he was only beginning to know, were no more.

Merged with the Force, they were, at last in the greatest peace.

Yoda had been right to tell Anakin not to let the sense of loss overcome him. Yoda would need to heed that advice now, even if he did not know if Anakin would ever truly accept it.

Ah, Anakin.

Anakin had been the Order's hero after all.

Anakin, the boy who Yoda, with great hesitation, had allowed Obi-Wan to train after the death of Qui-Gon Jinn.

The same boy whose reckless cunning had almost led to the death of him on Geonosis. The same who used that very essence of pride and vigor to kill Count Dooku.

The fact the Force had chosen Anakin's methods, and not the more pacifist ways of the mainstream Jedi, as the most victorious and effective tools of the peace in recent times was itself a matter Yoda had been pondering intently.

Anakin's contributions to the Order were outstanding.

And the prophecy … well, what of it?

Did balance truly mean supremacy of the light, or was the dark headed gaining strength at light's expense? Windu had shared his concern with Yoda that the Council had misread the prophecy and that Anakin was in fact destined to fulfill the latter.

The pieces, however, with Anakin's defeat of Dooku, his exposure of Sidious, and his continued membership in the Jedi Order did not seem to add up to a victory for the dark side.

But Yoda knew better.

It was a matter of fact that a prophecy that failed to come true might have been overcome. However, he also knew all too well that a prophecy that failed to come true one way might come true in another.

What the universe would have to undergo in the reformation of its circumstances to meet the prophecy, in the spiritual reconnections of time, space, and the Force, would be most astounding.

Yoda looked back across the field of battle, with Chewbacca and the Wookiee Chieftain Tarfful at his sides.

Only the Force could ever truly know what the future held.

And Yoda had a bad feeling that for some reason, the future was still very uncertain.

*******************

The hilt of Mace's lightsaber rested comfortably in Sidious' hands as the purple glow of the blade cast its gleam.

Anakin could feel the Sith Lord's energy swelling.

"And now, Master Windu, your blade will finally be put to use in better hands," Palpatine chortled.

The Korun Jedi Master was feeling weaker by the moment.

Anakin then noticed Palpatine's hand was pointed toward Mace.

Without enough time to react, he saw Mace's eyes close and his form slump in immobility.

"Stop that now!" Anakin yelled.

Palpatine's devilish grin widened.

"I see you do not approve of my use of the Force Drain technique on your friend, young Skywalker," Palpatine said. "You could have had the pleasure of learning how to use it."

"I gain my own strength, not steal it from others like a coward."

"You should have joined me when you had the chance."

Palpatine suddenly ran forward at above-human speed with his lightsaber coming toward Anakin's left side.

Anakin quickly braced himself for impact and adjusted his stance. He blocked the incoming lightsaber sweep but then found himself flying backward due to a well-placed kick by Sidious into his stomach.

Right before he slammed against the divider that separated the cockpit from the rest of the LAAT, Anakin used the force to rotate his body so his feet would land on the wall.

He was amazed Palpatine could muster so much physical power – this was, after all, the same man Anakin had for so long regarded as so frail. But as Sidious had said to Anakin at the Galaxies Opera House, the dark side of the Force truly did lead to unnatural abilities.

And so did the light.

Anakin pushed off from the wall and soared straight forward, his lightsaber coming now toward the left side of Sidious' neck.

Palpatine blocked the attack with ease. While Anakin's chest was still parallel to the floor, as he was still moving horizontally from the earlier propel, Palpatine swiftly repositioned to stab Anakin through the chest.

Anakin moved his blade under him and blocked the tip of the opposing lightsaber.

Anakin then rotated his body again using the Force so that his arms, head, and chest were now closer to the ground than his legs.

As he extended his arms and met the ground with his hands, Sidious rushed toward him again.

While Anakin tucked his head in, temporarily disengaged his lightsaber, and used his arms to provide additional strength to roll forward, Sidious jumped up in the air and moved his blade downward so that he would hit Anakin as he stood up.

Before Anakin stood, and while he remained crouched after completing the roll, he sidestepped while keeping his knees bent and then rolled to his side.

Sidious caught himself on the hard ground although he had not found the time to move his stolen lightsaber.

Instead, Sidious discovered that he had made a hole through the floor of the LAAT with the lightsaber's blade.

This gave him an idea that would be immensely helpful if it succeeded.

While Anakin ignited his lightsaber and ran toward Palpatine, the Sith Lord jumped backward and then sent out Force Lightning toward Mace.

Anakin knew that Mace was already so weakened that the lightning might actually kill him, and so he rushed to position himself between the lightning and his friend.

"I see you care about him more than you care about stopping me. How excellent this is," Palpatine said.

Anakin continued to block the attack. The lightning felt so powerful, with the stolen energies of Mace giving the waves additional strength.

As Sidious kept his left hand out, with lightning pouring forth from it, he used the lightsaber in his right hand to cut a hole in the bottom of the LAAT.

Anakin watched in angst knowing what was to come.

A circular piece about a meter in diameter fell from the bottom of the craft to the city below.

Anakin felt the rush of the nighttime air of Coruscant enter the compartment.

Sidious immediately withdrew his lighting and without a word or moment of hesitation, jumped through the bottom of the craft to the city below.

Now that Anakin could concentrate on helping Mace, Anakin looked within himself and the Force to strengthen his ability to perform Force Healing, a technique he had not often used but which he felt he now had to.

With the power of the Force, aided by humanity's ability to access other, intrinsic powers when in desperation, Anakin felt the technique working.

Mace began to open his eyes.

Anakin felt relieved.

"Skywalker? Skywalker, what's going on?" he asked.

"There's no time to talk, Master. Palpatine escaped and I need to find him."

"Let me … let me help you," Mace said, trying to sit up but still in a great deal of pain.

Anakin wished he had the time to finish healing him, but he couldn't give Sidious more time.

"Go back to the Jedi Temple and rest. Send reinforcements."

Anakin then ran toward the hole.

"Anakin, wait!" Mace yelled as Anakin jumped through the hole and used the Force to guide his descent.

The rushes of Coruscant's air currents were all about him now.

Fortunately, there were no passenger craft in the area, and so Anakin didn't have to avoid then.

There was, however, the problem of the kilometer drop below.

*******************

Sidious walked calmly through one of Coruscant's lower levels, acting in a casual manner so as not to attract attention.

One element was on his side: his face was now so contorted that he would not be immediately recognizable.

It was a good obfuscator, indeed.

There was much to do, and little time with which to do it.

He knew that among these alleys, there would have to be some sort of vendor with the item he was seeking.

*******************

_Chapter 7 is up next!_

_Chapter 6 complete: Nov. 17, 2009_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_- American Vigor -_


	7. The Seventh Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Chapter Seven **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

As clone troopers from various legions fired upon the last remnants of the separatists' droids on Utapau, Obi-Wan watched with a sense of fulfillment.

However, the coming victory in this battle was somewhat with a loss.

While Dooku and Grievous, the dark lord and the droid general, were now but memories that haunted the galaxy, the supporting leaders of the confederacy remained at large. And even more importantly, the Jedi Order, at least as of the last transmission Obi-Wan had received, had the mastermind behind all this in captivity.

Obi-Wan thought it was amazing, simply amazing, that Palpatine, the same person who had competed with Obi-Wan for so long for Anakin's friendship, had been doing so under such sinister pretences.

It had always seemed strange to Obi-Wan that the supreme chancellor of the Republic would so frequently go out of his way to devote time toward his friendship with Anakin, even with the consideration that Anakin had done so much good for the galaxy. While it was true Anakin deserved great recognition for his greater successes, the time Palpatine had spent with him, in consideration of all the responsibilities he had as chancellor and all the quadrillions of beings in the galaxy with whom he could potentially grant an audience, still seemed to have been in excess.

Why had Palpatine been so interested in Anakin, anyway?

When Anakin was but a boy, his early acts of heroism had indeed saved the world Palpatine represented in the Senate from the economic and military oppression of the Trade Federation, which at the time had seemed to be a great threat to Naboo. Surely, Skywalker was noteworthy for that. In his years on Coruscant, under Obi-Wan's tutelage and in the time after Anakin had become a Jedi Knight, Palpatine had kept up and intensified that friendship.

And that led to a larger question.

What would a Sith Lord want with a Jedi?

As Yoda would say, "Most peculiar, this is."

Obi-Wan had not learned much of the Sith in the years before he and Qui-Gon Jinn had fought Darth Maul on that fateful day in Theed.

His interest in the Sith had grown shortly thereafter, for the obvious reasons of wanting to know more about his master's killers and so that he might become more prepared to defend the Republic. While much of the information the Jedi had kept regarding the Sith had been restricted, Obi-Wan had learned at least a modicum from Yoda.

Apparently, in a conflict between the Jedi and the Sith that had lasted for 1,000 years, itself ending a little less than 1,000 years before the current time, the Sith Order had entered into a self-destructive civil war, which seemed to have in fact been the second civil war among the Sith, the details of the first having been largely lost to galactic history. As a result of this conflict, a new organization known as the Brotherhood of Darkness had emerged, which to Obi-Wan's fascination had at one time been comprised of 20,000 Sith Lords.

While the ancient Jedi master Hoth had been fighting the Sith, on a world believed to have been Ruusan, the Brotherhood of Darkness, which had been comprised of all but a sole disillusioned Sith, had destroyed itself in a process meant to destroy the many Jedi that were attacking it. The sole survivor, who allegedly took the name Darth Bane, eventually trained an apprentice and established the Rule of Two, a Sith organizational structure in which only two Sith at any given time, a master and an apprentice, would exist. This was of course not the case for circumstances in which one of those two Sith had deceased, and this structure had apparently lasted into the modern era, with Darth Sidious having ultimately inherited this form of operations from Bane.

In light of recent revelations, Obi-Wan surmised that as Darth Tyranus, Count Dooku had been Palpatine's apprentice. Before him, Darth Maul had been Sidious' apprentice. With the death of both of these Sith Lords, and with the revelation that Sidious was, in fact, their master and not their apprentice, it would appear that at this time, Sidious had no apprentice.

This was the same Sith Lord who had been so intent on being Anakin's friend.

There was now an open spot.

Obi-Wan recognized the likely horror Sidious had been planning all along.

But for now, he had had enough of this train of thought. Obi-Wan knew he needed to focus on finding the outlaws.

Commander Cody had confirmed to Obi-Wan that the remaining leaders of the confederacy had indeed fled Utapau before the Republic had had the chance to catch them.

A great challenge in formally ending this war would be finding them.

They had left without a trace.

The Republic's Venator-class Star Destroyers, Acclamator I-class assault ships, and even a complement of Acclamator IIs present in the skies and surrounding space of Utapau had apparently arrived after the separatist leaders had left, and so could not simply track the hyperspace route they had taken.

Kenobi regretted not having been able to put hyperspace relays on board the seperatists' vessels himself, which would have helped in tracking them down.

He would need to have the clones probe the droids to see if any contained any useful information regarding the separatist leaders' current whereabouts.

He desperately needed a lead.

As he began to walk over to Cody, his communicator activated.

He was receiving an incoming message from Anakin. The holoprojector attached to Kenobi's communicator roared to life.

The sound of swiftly moving air filled the speakers of the device.

A hologram of Anakin, with his hair rushing upward, filled the projection.

"Hello, Obi-Wan," Anakin said from afar.

Anakin could see that the holocamera on Obi-Wan's end picked up a facial expression that showed Obi-Wan groaning over Anakin's apparent playfulness in a dire situation.

"What have you gotten yourself into this time?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Oh, you know, falling to my possible death. Same old, same old."

"You probably want to concentrate on what you're doing, then," Obi-Wan responded, matter-of-factly.

"Listen, contact the Temple, Sidious is on the move. He escaped from the transport Master Windu and I were using to bring him over there."

"He what?"

"You heard me right."

"So, you jumped out of the craft and you're going to try and look for him?"

"Yep."

"That would explain things."

"I obviously have to go. Contact the others and get over here as quickly as you can."

Anakin's transmission flashed off.

Obi-Wan let out a sigh.

"Once again, on the move."

Nute Gunray, Wat Tambor, and the others could wait. The dark power at the top of the separatist's chain of command needed to be stopped.

He knew he would have to make his way back to Coruscant.

Overhead, a Star Destroyer was patrolling the airspace.

Kenobi called up to it.

"This is General Kenobi, which Venator is straight above Pau City?"

The bridge of the vessel overhead responded.

"General Kenobi, this is Lieutenant Commander Lorth Needa of the _Integrity_. Do you have a further query?"

"Yes, lieutenant."

* * *

_Chapter seven is complete! (11/27/09)_

_A Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating._

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_- American Vigor - _


	8. The Eighth Chapter

**A Destiny Challenged**

**- a Star Wars FanFiction -**

**Chapter Eight **

_Disclaimer: Star Wars, the glorious franchise it is, is not in any way a property I control. I can only wish to supplement its mystique with stories such as the one herein. The same is in regards to related characters, symbols, plot elements, etc._

_With that said, I hope you enjoy the story!_

*************

Sidious moved with the intensity of a shadow in the darkest reaches Coruscant's night.

He knew Anakin was likely on his trail at that very moment, and he didn't want to wage the risk of fighting that enraged boy before he could further his plans.

Fortunately, his fall from the LAAT had been a very short one. He had planned it that way, using the Force as a guide throughout the duration of his midair battles with Anakin and Master Windu, guiding events as much as he could to time the fall to his advantage.

The dark side was still very much with him.

And it would have been more so had that blasted Jedi Skywalker not been so adamant in fighting for his deeply misguided cause. His determination, and the powerful vectors of the Force that caressed his very essence, had in fact thrown off Palpatine's use of the dark side to make his landing slightly off course.

Palpatine did, indeed, even with the blackness in his heart, find apologizing to that perturbed Twi'lek female the only right thing to do when he'd accidentally crash landed right through the roof of her dwelling in this slum, only to accidentally gaze upon the most private of her appearances.

She might not have understood the significance of his apologetic bow, but he had given it quickly and left the scene.

Even Sith Lords could be courteous at times.

Bashful, too, but Palpatine's marred visage shielded him from revealing anything of the sort.

*************

Unbeknownst to Sidious, Anakin was still falling from the much loftier height at which he'd begun his current descent.

His acceleration would have been higher if this was, say, the surface of Oovo IV or another airless world whose lack of an atmosphere wouldn't have provided the friction that was working against the gravitational pull here on the galaxy's capital world.

Impact was to occur in 10 standard seconds.

And to Anakin, at this very moment, any threat to his safety was well worth the risk if it meant he'd be doing everything in his power to stop the Sith.

"Force, don't fail me now!" he yelled as the ground came closer.

Quite literally, he used the Force to counter the gravitational force right before his moment of impact, slowing him down by leaps and bounds.

Truth be told, he could have began slowing himself down much earlier, but he'd travelled faster this way.

Besides, it wouldn't have been as much fun.

Even with the help of the Force to protect him, he'd braced for impact and bent his knees as his feet touched the ground so he could more sufficiently absorb the reverberations.

He landed in a crouched position, with his left hand now touching the ground. The cold feeling of the metallic floor met the nerves and senses of his palm and fingers, and he momentarily enjoyed the sensation he knew his right hand would never quite feel the same way ever again.

He stood up straight, and began to run.

He'd have to climb up many floors to the higher ground where he'd surmised Sidious had dropped.

What did worry Anakin greatly was that he didn't know exactly what the dark lord was planning.

Something within the Force told him it had to do with that command he'd given to the clone troopers aboard the LAAT before, although even with that feeling, and with the heightened senses he had so miraculously gained, Anakin couldn't be sure.

He let the Force guide him.

Sidious was here, somewhere.

He could feel himself moving closer to that vile man.

And, hopefully, there would soon be more Jedi here to help him.

But he was looking forward most of all to working with his former master to end the conflict he could feel was close to conclusion. The Clone Wars had helped him grow in mind, body, and spirit. The battles in which he'd made mistakes and dabbled in the dark because of Palpatine had been ones he'd learned from, and the Republic he was fighting for would live to see another sunrise under the blue-white rays of light from Coruscant Prime.

If Obi-Wan hustled and got back here quick, then this party would be all the more festive.

*************

Palpatine decided that he hated these dreary alleyways almost as much as he hated his political enemies.

They symbolized the very corruption of the Republic that had made him seek revolution against it in the first place. The alleys' unkempt appearance was one he attributed to inefficiency and a lack of desire to take a stand and fix problems head-on, paralleling the squabbling of incompetent and blabbering senators, with their petty interests and

short-minded goals. The grand visions of empire were ones Palpatine had been cherishing for some time, as aside from being a Sith, although nonetheless impacted by the ideology that came with the cause, he truly did feel that an imperial system would be to the benefit of the galaxy.

That notion of benefit was an entirely questionable one, but even in the dark, there was the light of at least a modicum of noble intent, however soured it was in Palpatine's hands.

The technology vendors were not as plentiful as he had hoped.

None of the ones he had so far visited had the device he was looking for. It was extremely surprising to Palpatine that this was so, as he'd thought that these devices were much more intensively distributed that they apparently were.

Maybe Raith Sienar's operations did not have the marketing ingenuity Palpatine thought they had.

Regardless, he needed to find it.

And he knew just where to look for more information.

Across from the vendor he had just visited, there was a modest cantina with bouncers forming a perimeter at the front of the building, all the while with weapons at the ready.

No problem.

Palpatine, confident he would not be readily recognized in this form, made his way over to the line to enter the cantina, standing in between fellow citizens of the Republic who had no idea just whose company they were now in.

The creatures in front of Palpatine were busy showing some sort of membership card to the nearest bouncer, who promptly let them in.

Now, it was his turn.

Once again, no problem.

"Hey you, where's your card?" the Shi'ido bouncer asked plainly.

With a slow, subtle wave of the hand, Palpatine did what he did best.

"You do not need to see my identification," he said.

"Then move it along, I don't have all night, you know!" the bouncer, confused to the point he did not even realize it, said as he let Palpatine through.

As Palpatine made his way inside, the loud music began to more fully reach his eardrums.

It was some of the latest drabble the upstart music industry on Dorin had somehow found a way to make popular throughout the galaxy in recent years through its contacts on Corellia.

The genre, Smazzo, blasted away as its vibrant sounds of percussion filled the cantina with nightlife.

Sidious approached the bar and was pleased to hear talk of business among the customers.

He briefly used the Force to compel the three customers sitting closest to him to turn around to face him, but took great interest in the fact that one of them did not turn around and looked shocked when the others suddenly did.

'Ah, I see why,' Sidious thought.

A Yinchorri.

What an unexpected place to find one of their species.

Sidious had encouraged an uprising on their homeworld more than a decade before due to how dangerous this species had been, and in some ways still was, to his plans. Theirs was one of the few sentient species in the galaxy to be immune from mind adjustments induced by the Force, and the difficulty this posed Sidious had been compounded by their militaristic attitudes. This militarism had subsided after he'd manipulated the Jedi to do his bidding in compelling the Yinchorri to reduce their armaments and will for combat, but their resistance to the Force remained.

How very interesting.

"I overheard you talking about local business practices, and hence I was wondering if the three of you could point out to me where I might find a particular item."

"Oh yeah, what are you looking for?" asked one of the two human males in the group whom the mind trick had worked on.

Palpatine told them.

"Ah, that's an easy one," the other human male said. "Ol' Hahark here is the owner of a shop that carries those; isn't that right, Hahark?"

The Yinchorri female – Sidious could tell she was female due to his extended time in dealing with her species – then answered.

"That is most correct, but my store will be closed until tomorrow," she said.

"It would be most good if I could obtain it now, my friend," Palpatine said, waving his hand in what he expected would be futility but which he wanted to try anyway.

"I'm sorry; no can do," she said, expectantly.

Sidious knew time was running out, and with this lead so fresh and right here, he felt he would be a fool to waste time trying to find someone else.

"Please, I need to get one for a friend; he really needs it by tomorrow," Sidious said. "I'll pay double credits for it."

He truly did have the money on hand to back that statement up.

"Fine, but first I want to dance to this excellent Smazzo, as I haven't been able to find a dance partner all night. Because of that, like it or not, you're going to be my dance partner," the Yinchorri said.

Palpatine did a double-take.

"I'm sorry?"

"I want to dance. No one else wants to dance with me, not even these two bums because they hate doing it. The dance to this music I want to do involves two dancers, and in return for going out of my way to open the store for you, you're going to dance with me. Is that understood?"

Never had the dark lord of the Sith forseen the enactment of his plans coming to this, but time was of the essence, and he had to do what he felt must be done, even with his sense of hesitation.

Sidious made his way to the dance floor.

*************

_Chapter Eight Completed: Dec. 5, 2009 _

_Up next: A big surprise for Anakin! And what does this mean for Bail Organa? Stay tuned!_

_In fun and fanfiction,_

_- American Vigor - _


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